Just discovered Attack on Titan? Wondering what all the fuss is about? Brigid Alverson has you covered with an in-depth article discussing the characters, settings, and numerous spin-off products inspired by this world-wide phenomenon.

YALSA just released its 2015 list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens. Manga makes a good showing on this year’s list, with titles as varied as All You Need Is Kill and My Little Monster getting a nod from librarians.

The nominees for the Tezuka prize have been announced, and they include Naruto, Assassination Classroom, and A Silent Voice, which Kodansha will start publishing here this spring (it’s already available digitally on Crunchyroll).

Big news from VIZ: the publisher has licensed Ultraman, a manga update of the 1960s TV show. Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi’s story focuses on the original hero’s son, a seemingly ordinary teen who discovers that he’s inherited his father’s superpowers. Look for the first volume of Ultraman in August alongside the first volume of VIZ’s other new acquisition, My Hero Academia.

News from Japan: The Mori Arts Center Gallery in Tokyo will be sponsoring an exhibit of Naruto artwork and objects from April 25th to June 28th. One person who won’t be attending that show is Haruki Murakami, who recently told readers that he no longer has time to read manga or watch anime.

Artist Shun Matsuena has chosen an unusual platform for launching his new martial-arts manga: the walls of Tokyo’s Kichijouji Station. The non-profit organization NPO Lighthouse will be distributing copies of Blue Heart, a free manga that discusses sexual violence prevention for teens.

Vertical announced three new licenses at Katsucon this weekend: A manga, Ninja Slayer; a light novel, Kizumonogatari; and a light novel series, Seraph of the End. If that last one sounds familiar, it should: Viz has been publishing the manga. Kizumonogatari is by the novelist NisiOisin, and it’s the third volume in his Monogatari series that includes Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari, and Monogatari Series Second Season. Vertical marketing director Ed Chavez said that they chose the third volume because “NisiOisin’s editor suggested we start there. His team is very involved in this project.”

Bruno Meyerfield of World Crunch takes a look at the African manga scene, where fans who grew up reading Japanese manga are now making their own, uniquely African creations.

Arina Tanemura will be a guest at Anime Fest in Dallas, Texas, next September.

News from Japan: The LEGO Ninjago animated series (based on the LEGO playsets in which the characters are ninjas) is coming to Japan in April, and there’s going to be a manga series, too: LEGO LEGO Let’s LEGO Ninjago will launch in the March issue of Shogakukan’s CoroCoro Comic (out on February 28). The Jump Square spinoff Jump SQ. 19 is coming to an end this week, but Shueisha will launch a new spinoff in July. A manga version of the Koran is coming out this week.

Twelve years after completing Boys Over Flowers, manga-ka Yoko Kamio is hard at work on a sequel, Sunshine After Flowers: Flower Boys Next Season. The new series will be released simultaneously in English and Japanese via the web; Heart of Manga has more details. Look for the first chapter on February 15th.

Police in Burrell, PA are investigating a fifth grade student for posting a Death Note-inspired message inside Stewart Elementary School last week. Local media outlet WPXI reports that the school has notified the parents of the six boys listed on the so-called “death note,” and is taking additional measures to address the situation. According to Anime News Network, this incident marks the seventh time that an American student has faced disciplinary action for imitating the hero’s actions in Death Note.

Kazuma Kamaichi’s popular Heavy Object novels are getting the manga treatment again; look for Heavy Object A (Ace) in the February 27th issue of Dengeki Maoh. Million Doll, a manga about an idol otaku, is being adapted for television by Asahi Production for a July premiere.

Reviews: Put on your scuba gear—Shaenon Garrity devotes the latest House of 1000 Manga column to Daisuke Igarashi’s atmospheric Children of the Sea. Over at Okazu, Erica Friedman reviews Whispered Words, an all-too-rare example of yuri in English.